The Risen Lord

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The Mind of Christ |

THE RISEN LORD

Philippians 2:8-9 (ESV)
8  And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
9  Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,

Revelation 1:17-20 (ESV)
17  When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last,
18  and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.
19  Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this.
20  As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

Dr. John R. W. Stott, the great Anglican theologian, once wrote:

"Christianity is in its very essence a resurrection religion. The concept of resurrection lies at its heart. If you remove it, Christianity is destroyed."  

Indeed, Christianity is a resurrection religion, but more than the event itself, Christianity is centered on the person of Jesus Christ, who was resurrected. It is only through Him can we all find hope. Why? Jesus is the only person in human history that faced death and overcame it. And so, it is only through Him that we get to know that there is life after death. But not just the hope of life after death; Jesus also gives hope that there is life after life. What do I mean by that statement? I would like to emphasize that the resurrection of Jesus proves that there is more to life than this life; only in Jesus Christ can we find hope that life continues after our journey on earth is over. 

In our past three sermons this month, we have focused on this passage in Philippians 2:1-11. Last Friday, when we celebrated the crucifixion of Jesus, we highlighted the obedience of Jesus to the Father, resulting in His self-emptying, servanthood, and sacrifice. The next significant portion of our main text speaks of the direct result of His obedience, which is His exaltation. If you notice the passage we read earlier, there is the transition from His death to His exaltation (Philippians 2:8-9). Theologically, His exaltation refers to Christ's restoration to glory and sovereignty. If you are familiar with the Lord's prayer found in John 17, part of this prayer mentions this restoration to glory:

John 17:5 (ESV) 

 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. 

Before Christ's death on the cross, He prayed that He would be restored to the glory He once possessed before He came to earth and became a man. And so, on the third day after His death, He resurrected. This resurrection became the first step of His exaltation. Obviously, Jesus must resurrect first before He takes His place back in heaven; before He receives His sovereign authority over everything in our world. Having established this truth, I shift to our main text in Revelation 1:17-20. This passage embodies our theme this morning: "The Risen Lord." By looking at the title, you would find the combination of resurrection and exaltation. 

When we studied the Book of Revelation, we said that John wrote this book on the island of Patmos when Christians were severely persecuted. The emperor Domitian who wanted to eradicate Christianity on the face of the earth, ordered these persecutions. In fact, John was arrested for preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ and was exiled to the island of Patmos, where all the worst criminals of the society were sent; so that they won't be able to pollute the Roman cities. Therefore, during their worst times, they needed to see the most glorious image of the Risen Lord Jesus Christ through the book of Revelation. So, with our passage, let's magnify the three glorious characteristics of the risen Lord:

I               HE IS A COMPASSIONATE LORD:

As we begin to study our text, we would immediately realize the glorious person of Jesus after His resurrection. In verse 17 – "When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, "Fear not, I am the first and the last." 

John is one of the 12 disciples of Jesus Christ who had the privilege of living with Him for three years. As a disciple of Jesus, he became very familiar with Jesus Christ. He was considered the beloved disciple because he was the youngest amongst the twelve. One of the most familiar scenes of Jesus with John in the Gospels is found in John 13:25 (ESV) 

 25 So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to him, "Lord, who is it?"

Take note; imagine John leaning his head on the breast of Jesus. That was how super close and familiar he was with Him! But then, after Jesus Christ resurrected and appeared before John, he was in a total sense of awe and reverence that he immediately laid his face on the ground prostrating before Him like a dead person. 

With this reaction of John, I think of how we will react at the very first encounter of Jesus Christ in heaven. Most definitely, it won't be a casual or familiar greeting we will have to give Him. But, for sure, it will be just like John who had this great sense of awe and reverence toward a glorious Lord. 

However, I want to show you how comforting it is to know that though His appearance changed from looking like an ordinary human being into a glorious God, His character of being loving and compassionate is still there. We see this in how Jesus approaches John in the latter part of verse 17 - But he laid his right hand on me, saying, "Fear not, I am the first and the last.

We should not miss that gentle touch and meek words saying, "You don't have to be afraid." I love it that although Jesus now possesses this glorious image and power, He is still the same person. So often, the most influential people in the world would lose that gentleness and compassion toward others. But not Jesus! One dynamic scenario was when He was still on earth; He ministered to a man sick with leprosy:

Matthew 8:1-4 (ESV) 

 1 When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. 

 2 And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, if you will, you can make me clean." 

 3 And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, "I will; be clean." And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 

 4 And Jesus said to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them." 

Let me remind you that during those times, leprosy was highly contagious. And so, the people who contracted it were treated as outcasts of society. Therefore, for Jesus to stretch His hands and touch this leper demonstrates His love and compassion. 

But let's not ignore the title, "I am the first and the last." This name ascribed to Jesus highlights His absolute power as God. It literally means that everything started because of Him, and everything will end in Him. He is the One who created everything, and in the end, it is His ordained purposes that will be accomplished in this world. Yet, even with absolute power, He remains to be gentle and compassionate to us today. 

II             HE IS THE CONQUERING LORD

The second essential character of the risen Lord that I want to emphasize comes from the first part of verse 18, saying, "and the living One. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore." 

You might be asking, "Where do we find the idea of Jesus being a conqueror?" There is no question; Jesus conquered the source of human's biggest fear, which is death. However, when you revisit what happened to Him during His crucifixion, He seemed to be a loser. He was beaten; He was being laughed at because He looked helpless. He even cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me" (Mark 15: 34). 

But when Sunday came, He came roaring back to life. He conquered death and came back to life. And then He added, "and behold I am alive forevermore." Yes, Jesus died and rose from the dead. But, after He came back to life, He did not die again. This truth separates Him from everyone who was resurrected in the Bible. For example, Lazarus was resurrected by Jesus but died again. For Jesus, it is a different story. After He came back to life, He never died again. Now, He lives forever because He conquered death. 

Remember, the story of Lazarus' resurrection is recorded in John 11. Jesus came after Lazarus was already dead for four days, so when He showed up at their house, Martha met Him and said, "If you had been here, my brother would not have died." Jesus immediately told her, "don't worry, he will resurrect." And Martha responded by saying, "Yea, I know when all the dead ones will resurrect" (I'm paraphrasing). Then came a remarkable declaration from Jesus:

John 11:25-26 (ESV) 

 25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 

 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?"

With the claim of Jesus being the resurrection and the life, what do you think went through the mind of Martha when Jesus asked, "Do you believe this?" If it was you, would you have believed? Let me tell you, the same question is being asked by Jesus Christ to every one of us today. The only advantage we have is that we already know that Jesus proved His ability to resurrect. Therefore, everyone who would still deny the power of Jesus over death after He resurrected is clearly foolish and arrogant. 

Have you already believed in Jesus as the One who conquered death and will be able to help us conquer death as well? Whether we like it or not, one of these days, we will have to face our preordained death; I hope and pray that when that day comes, we could hold on to this truth that because we have Jesus in our hearts, we too would overcome death. 

But there is one more beautiful truth behind the words, "behold, I am alive forevermore." Jesus is alive today and is sitting around in heaven not doing anything. Instead, Jesus being alive forever gives us a tremendous advantage because He is committed to constantly helping us. Here is a verse that supports this truth:

Hebrews 7:25 (ESV) 

 25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. 

This verse clearly indicates that because He always lives He can guarantee the security of our salvation. How is He able to fulfill this task? Evidently, it is by His constant intercession or prayer for us. Therefore, for us believers, we should never be afraid to face whatever challenges we are facing knowing Christ is constantly praying for us. 

III           HE IS THE CROWNING LORD

The last characteristic we will find in Revelation is found in the last part of verse 18 – "I have the keys of Death and Hades." What does this declaration mean? 

This statement is a symbol of authority and power. The One who has the keys is the One who is in control. Since Jesus conquered death, now, He possesses the "keys" of death and Hades. In the New Testament, the word is hades; in the Old Testament, the Hebrew word is "Sheol." Both words suggest "the realm of the unseen, spirit world." When a person dies, death gets the body, but hades gets the spirit and the soul. 

Therefore, Jesus is the crowning Lord of both death and hades because He possesses their keys. If you are wondering how He got the keys, the obvious answer is through His resurrection. So, death today no longer has the power to terrorize humanity, which had been under its power for the longest time. The apostle Paul declares the same truth in his letter to the Romans:

Romans 6:9-11 (ESV) 

 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 

 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 

 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Notice, it is very clear that because Jesus Christ died to sin and was resurrected to life, today, He can free everyone who has placed their faith in Him. So, for Christians who are facing death, it will be a blessed experience.

There was one time in my ministry in the Philippines that I was invited to preach in a camp of several churches in Palawan. During the last night of the camp, an older gentleman shared his testimony on how he came to know Jesus Christ through his niece Brenda. Brenda was about 12 years old who grew up attending Sunday School in a nearby Baptist church. She loved Jesus Christ, and she constantly reminded her uncle to stop drinking and give his heart to Jesus Christ. He said that every time she did that to him, he would smile and tell her that probably one day he would do it.

However, one day Brenda contracted Malaria. Since it was a common problem in their province, her parents thought after a day or two, and she would feel better. However, instead of getting better, her condition turned worse. To make the long story short, all her loved ones gathered around her, including her uncle, during her last hours before passing away. Then, few minutes before she would die, she started looking up and start saying, "They're coming. Angels are coming." She kept repeating these words while looking up and wearing a big smile. And then, after a minute or so, she passed. Having witnessed this incident, the uncle felt so convicted, ran to the backyard and knelt before God, receiving Jesus as his Savior. He told the people in the camp that night, "There was no way he would ignore Jesus Christ after what he saw that evening."

Again, I pray that none of us will ignore Jesus and His offer of salvation. Remember, Jesus, resurrected so that you and I can conquer death.  

-Bishop Jeremiah Lepasana